Redskins vs. Eagles: 3 unheralded players that could have an impact

The Washington Redskins might not be in a ‘must win’ situation regarding their Monday night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles but they really must win this game. At 3-2, they are in second place in the NFC East division. The Dallas Cowboys are in third (due to W-L-T percentages) and the New York Giants live in the basement.

In the NFC Conference overall, Washington is in sixth place. Beating Philadelphia would bring their record even with the Cowboys’ (4-2) by adding a third NFC Conference win and would give the Redskins a much better shot at the postseason.

That said, the Redskins’ injury situation is fairly dire right now.

All-Pro CB Josh Norman (rib) has been ruled out for another game and fellow DB Bashaud Breeland (knee) is Questionable (although he has said he is hopeful that he will play against the Eagles).

All in all, there were six players listed as Questionable on the Saturday injury report (two offensive players: LT Trent Williams/knee and RB Rob Kelley/ankle; and four defensive players: Breeland, S Deshazor Everett/hamstring, S Stefan McClure/knee and LB Mason Foster/shoulder).

That’s a fair amount of guys that won’t be at maximum health.

With the Burgundy and gold injury bug running rampant, second-, third- and fourth-string players are going to have to step up Monday night. Here are three that could have a substantial impact:

1. DL Anthony Lanier II

It should be no surprise this player is on the list. Lanier is being put into action Monday night with the loss of first-round draft selection, Jonathan Allen and earlier loss of NT Phil Taylor, Sr.

DC Greg Manusky is big on rotating the big guys in the defensive trenches, in part, because they are such big men.

When trying to contain an aware, move-around-in-the-pocket QB like the Eagles’ Carson Wentz, any front-seven won’t be as potent when fatigued. Multiple bodies are required to keep guys fresh.

Appearing in four games in 2016, Lanier showed up big in his very first regular-season NFL competition: the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in London. On a Bengals third-and-one late it the game, then-starting DL Chris Baker stripped the ball from Bengals QB Andy Dalton. Lanier jumped on it and the Redskins offense got the ball back. The timing of the defensive stop had an impact because the Bengals were threatening to take the lead and win. The Redskins failed to score again but the game ended in a tie rather than a loss.

The 2016 undrafted free agent is still raw, but he is learning from one of the best in the business; DL coach Jim Tomsula, who has given him extra attention this week. Lanier has gained about 20 pounds since last season as well,

The second-year player will need to incorporate all he has been taught against the Eagles and, if he does, Washington may contain Philadelphia’s high-powered offense just enough to win.

2. K Nick Rose

Washington’s starting kicker, Dustin Hopkins, was recently placed on IR with a hip muscle issue and the team has signed Rose, a 2016 undrafted free agent out of Texas.

The second-year kicker made 27 of 38 field goals and 71 of 74 extra points during his college career. And, while he has spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers, he has never played in a regular-season NFL game.

Every point is going to matter against Philadelphia and, if the game ends up being as close as most NFC East contests are, Rose is going to have to make good on every extra point and every field goal he attempts. If he does, he could impact the game in a big way.

Related

‘Dunny’ started against the San Francisco 49ers when Norman could not play and the CB played extremely well as predicted; covering 49ers’ wideout Pierre Garçon (former 1,000-yard Redskins receiver) as well as a receiver can be covered. In fact, if the converted-wide-receiver continues to play as well as he did last week, he’ll no longer be ‘unheralded.’

With Breeland possibly playing at less than 100 percent and Norman still out, Dunbar will have to be doubly effective.

Eagles WR Nelson Agholor has become a comfortable target for Wentz’ with the Wentz-to-Agholor connection accounting for four touchdowns in six games since the start of the season. The 2015 first-round draft pick is averaging 16.1 yards-per-catch (although last week against the Carolina Panthers he was held to just four catches for 55 yards and seven-plus yards-per-catch).